Blind or visually impaired persons have difficulty navigating within their environment because of their inability to detect the location of target destinations and determine a navigational path to the target destinations. Blind or visually impaired persons often use computer-based vision systems to detect target destinations within an environment using one or more algorithms, and guide the blind or visually impaired user along the navigational path to the target destination. Such devices use spoken or audio prompts to indicate when to turn and to what degree. For example, such devices would identify to the user to turn left by 90 degrees using either a voice prompt, such as a clock face identification (e.g. 9 o'clock), or a specific beep to indict a 90 degree left turn.
Such devices have proven useful for assisting a blind or visually impaired user to navigate to the target destination when the person completes the required degree of the turn correctly and when there is a sufficient space of time between turns. However, if the blind or visually impaired person incorrectly executes the prompted turn, for example turned left by 65 degrees rather than the required 90 degrees, the previously known devices would be required to issue a course correction prompt. In situations in which the next navigational turn is rapidly approaching, the user could be confused by the course correction prompt followed by the subsequent navigation prompt. In other situations, the user can complete a first navigation prompt and be required to execute a second navigational prompt turn; however, the previously known device is still outputting the first navigation prompt. Therefore, the user would be prevented from moving naturally, specifically, the user would be required to move slower than normal to prevent outpacing the directional information.
As the previously known devices utilize intermittent voice prompts or turn indicating beeps, it is difficult for a user to navigate to two different target locations. Specifically, a user is incapable of accurately following a navigational path to a target destination while simultaneously receiving navigational information to a second different target destination. Therefore, the user may fail to realize the effect of following the navigational path to the target destination on the navigational path to the second target destination. Specifically, the user would fail to maintain the spatial orientation of the two navigational paths to the two target destinations based on the user's current location and path.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative systems and methods for assisting a blind or visually impaired user with navigating an environment to different target locations using simultaneous audio outputs.